Gathering attachment for sewing-machines.



No. 843,440. PATENTED FEB. 5.1907, B. H. BURRAGB.

GATHERING ATTACHMENT POR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 27, 1906.

ENUCH Ii.

BUKRAGE, OF WINSTON SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA.

GATHERlNG AT'lACHWlENT FOR SEWlNG-WIACHINES.

Ne. 84:3,9AO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 5, 1907.

Application filed September 27, 1906. Serial No. 336,469.

To (117/ /1 0711/ it lim (iU/Mfi-(J'I'LJ I 1 til, Exoen ii. Summon, a

ed States, residi j at ii iii.- the county of t er-s h l l citize; t 1 stoi'i Salon, 1' State oi Nor and ns inventiqci relates t.) what i. shall l'or 11c l the latter being lo er than or, the tree on; or the up er free end of the lower branch bcr g extended and said ends in the "resent insta11ce bei' g sque ed, so to 'lirnily against the upper i A- l lower surfaces of said presser-loot. The device is lo itudinally curved, will hereinafter an; air, by virtue which a certain amount of resiliency is obtained to 1:r vide for adjustability thereof. he gathere is so associated with the presserfeet that there is no possibility oi the needle c' cor. act therewith.

in a device with which I am l'anuhar and which is e: *lcved i'or use in ru'tl'l there 1s a '3? is e ity ci the needle co: 5 therewith, in which case the 'needle will be broken. By virtue of my attachiilcnt, however, this possibility is wholly avoided. l hile i have termed the device a gathering attachm-Qt. it may be used in forming other kind of work, such as shirring.

The invention incluees other objects and advaz'itagcs wnich, with the foregoing, will be fully set forth in the l;;llow' description, while the novelty of said inv t-ion will be 'ncluded in the claims succeeding said dcsedation.

in the drawings vi g and forma part of this s' i 1 1 illustrate in d e tail one advantagewus [arm of O"il.)0tll"1.(.l1il of the invention which to Cliftbh) those l l l l l will be lully described in said description. tertai: i variations, however, may be adopted wit if. the scope oi my said clai'zns.

liel'erriiig to the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of parts ol a sewing-machine, includijg the 'presser-toet thereof, and showing the latter as equipped. with said attachment. Fi 2 is a top plan view of the presser-l'oet with the attach; 1t applied thereto, and Fig. 3 is a detail view of the attachment separated .l'roiu the prcsser-tl'oot.

,liilie characters indicate like parts throughout the several ligurcs.

la the drawings 1 have shown a pressertoot at 2, a rcedlcbar at S, and a needle at i. 'lhcsc parts may be o'l any desired character. Those illustrated are of well-known constructien.

The gathering attachment is denoted in a general way by 5, and it is represented as made in a single piece. It may be formed of spring-steel, sheet metal, or any other material having a certain amount of resiliency. Said part 5 comprises what might be considered an upper branch, as 6, and a lower branch, as 7, the latter being longer than the lornier and the two merging or uniting upon a curve of considerable radius. The upper branch 6 is curved to arch over the up per .tacc oi the presscr-foot 2, while the lower branch 7 is curved to arch under the under surface oi said presser-loot, although the curve oi the lower branch 7 is not oi as great a radius as that of the upper branch 6. The material of which the attachment 5 is made is not essential, although, as previously indicated, spring-steel or sheet metal may be utilized for this purpose. By virtue of the curvature oi the attachment I obtain a certain amount o'l springiness therein and in this way secure adjustability and the iirnr gripping of a presser-ioot by the attachment. The attachment is practically of spiral form, as will be understood. The free ends of the two branches 6 and 7 are squared ell to bear solidly agaiust the upper and lower surfaces, respectively, oi the presscr-foot, so as to prevent lateral motion oi the attachment. The resiliency of the attachment is su'llicicnt to prevent the same being accidentally separated from the prcsscr-ileot either lengthwise or sidewise thercol. The two branches of skilled in the art to practice said invention l the attachment bear against the presser-foot only at their inner terminals, and this I find and are caught on the downward stroke of amply sufficient to hold the same in operative relation with the presser-foot. A user of the attachment can in an instant slip the same onto the. presser-foot of a sewing-machine, and the separation of the attachment from such presser-foot can be as readily effected. The device throughout is imperforate and is of integral construction. When the device is on the presser-foot, both the upper and lower branches thereof extend short of the needle, so as not to interfere in any wise with the free operation of such imple ment.

in operation the attachment is mounted on the presser-foot of a sewing-machine, as hereinbefore described, and the goods to be gathered are placed under said attachment and presser-foot. The attachment then holds the goods instead of the presser-foot, and the feed-dog bears on the attachment and carries the goods to the needle, while the tension of the thread holds the goods until the feed-dog makes another stroke, this operation being continued until the work is finished. The fullness of the gathering is determined by the stroke of the feed-dog. The best results are obtained when the tension 01 the thread is tight, for in this relation the thread holds the goods during the plait-for ning operation. The goods are doubled and are folded in the space between the attachment and the needle the needle.

"What I claim is 1. An attachment of the class described comprising an upper branch and a lower branch, the latter being longer than the former, the upper branch being curved to arch over the upper surface of a presser-foot and the lower branch being curved to arch under said presser-foot, and the inner ends of the two branches being adapted to engage the upper and lower surfaces, respectively, of said presser-foot.

2. An attachment of the class described comprising an upper branch and a lower branch, the latter being longer than the former, the upper branch being curved to arch over the upper surface of a presser-foot and the lower branch being curved to arch under said presser-foot, and the inner ends of the two branches being adapted to engage the upper and lower surfaces respectively of said presser-foot, said attachment being of integral construction and the branches thereof uniting upon a curve.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ENOCH H. BURRAGE. Witnesses:

J. WV. l/VHITAKER, O. O. TESH. 

